Fundraising for any nonprofit organization can be daunting. There are various ways in which an organization can go about asking donors for money. However, there is one fundraising channel that has proven to be successful time and time again in terms of engaging donors: direct mail.
As a marketing tool, direct mail can be more appealing due to its physical format and personalized content. If you or your nonprofit organization have decided to use direct mail to reach donors, you’ve made a smart choice. However, fine-tuning the structure and content of a fundraising letter can be complex and tedious. Here are five best practices that will make your direct mail development manageable while also improving its quality:
1. Customize your fundraising letter templates.
When launching your direct mail campaign, you want to make sure that your fundraising letter is impactful, appealing, and organized. One of the most important aspects of writing a great fundraising letter is choosing and customizing the right template. Most fundraising letter templates include some variation of these six pieces:
- Salutation
- Opening
- Cause
- Anecdote
- Image
- Call to action
When choosing the right template for your appeal, make sure that it represents what you want to highlight for your fundraising. For example, perhaps you’ve already sent out your initial fundraising letter and you wish to follow up with a matching gift request. In that case, use an acknowledgment letter that thanks the donor for their contributions and encourages them to research their matching gift eligibility through their employer.
The fundraising template you use sets the tone for how you promote your cause. Your fundraising letter, in a sense, is an extension of the brand image that you wish to create for your nonprofit. Regardless of what that image looks like, your template should allow your letter to be concise, easy to read, and attention-grabbing. After all, you want your donor to acknowledge the letter as an exciting opportunity rather than just another piece of snail mail.
For example, you could include an important statistic relating to your mission or add a quote or slogan that summarizes your cause. Organizing your template ultimately makes it easier to communicate your message and get the response you’re looking for.
2. Include a section about matching gifts.
Matching gifts are essential for maximizing your nonprofit donations. This type of corporate philanthropy consists of donations made by a donor’s employer in response to a gift made by the employee. This is a fantastic way to double (or even triple!) your existing donations, but it’s often overlooked by donors and nonprofits alike.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to educate your supporters about the prevalence and power of matching gift programs. Usually, you’ll ask them to contact their employer for eligibility and any necessary forms to fulfill the gift request (as each corporation has its own set of matching gift guidelines). However, matching gift software can simplify this process by easily providing donors with information about their employer’s giving programs.
Overall, matching gifts have several benefits for nonprofits, corporations, and donors alike. For the donors, matching gifts come at no additional cost but allow them to see the impact of their donation go twice as far. In addition, the company can get recognition for corporate social responsibility, which improves its reputation and provides them with tax cuts.
Finally, for nonprofits, matching gifts can increase revenue while also aiding them in segmenting their donor database. By connecting donors to certain companies, nonprofits can obtain valuable insights on how to further customize and curate content for their audience. Make sure you send out your matching gift appeals for these reasons and more.
3. Strategically curate your greeting and P.S.
Curating content is important—especially when the end of the year approaches. It allows you to personalize the direct mail content for your donor. The more you personalize a direct mail letter, the more you motivate your donor in supporting the cause.
Personalization means not only explaining how the cause is relevant to the reader but also using language and terminology that resonates with them. There are few better opportunities when it comes to personalizing your content than the greeting and P.S.
When drafting your direct mail appeals, it’s important to recognize that your recipients are likely going to skim the text. And when readers scan a letter, studies show that they typically jump straight to the P.S. after the opening.
Therefore, when writing your greeting and P.S., be sure to effectively communicate the feeling you want to create in your donor. If you want your donor to feel close to your nonprofit, you may adopt an informal and casual tone in your greeting and P.S. Perhaps you want them to read the letter as if they were receiving it from a close friend. You can then conclude your P.S. with a joke that will make them smile.
This section can also include additional information that can get the donor more involved in the cause. It can be a minor suggestion based on the specific donor, or it can be a reference to a website/organizational resource. In short, the greeting and P.S. are the main components of the letter that donors remember; that’s why it has been used in sales-boosting for so long. Ask yourself what impact you want to have on the donor, and make your opening and closing statements reflect that.
4. Wrap up with a clear and concise CTA.
Once you have explained your cause and its current state, you must bring your letter to a close with a strong call to action (or CTA). The CTA is the most important part of your direct mail when it comes to asking for donations.
This is where you highlight the exact purpose and importance of your donor’s contribution to the cause. Here you must be specific with what action you demand from your donor. You’ve already detailed the broader scope of your organization’s efforts, and now it’s time to hone it down to one ask. It can be for monetary gifts, volunteer time, matching gift requests, or even event sign-ups.
Whatever your ask is, just make sure that you tie it back to that larger purpose. State why your intended action is necessary to push the cause forward. For example, you can write, “with your donation of $100 dollars, you can feed a struggling family of four for a month. ” This puts a tangible incentive along with your donation request to make the reader more likely to form an emotional connection.
The CTA can and should be used repeatedly throughout the body of your fundraising letter to improve results. The effectiveness of your CTA depends on how well you get your point across and its sense of urgency. You should make the donor feel like they are an extension of the organization. In other words, they must take action because any choice they make can have a large impact on the cause—and the good of the constituents depends on them.
5. Work with a dedicated direct mail fundraising platform.
Now that you understand the importance of an effective direct mail fundraising strategy, you must find the proper platform to meet your needs. Specifically, you’ll want to look for a platform that provides the tools and accessibility you need to craft your letter and maximize your ROI.
When finding a direct mail platform, you will notice how there are several companies that specialize in nonprofit direct mail, each having its own set of pros and cons in their services. Here are some of the features and considerations you may want to look out for:
- Low costs: Using direct mail can come with hefty start-up costs. As a nonprofit organization, you want to minimize the amount of spending on utilities and resources in order to maximize your investment in the cause. With the right direct mail fundraising platform, you can actually save money by paying less than you would on envelopes, ink, and stamps.
- Experience and reputation: An experienced partner is necessary for any nonprofit using direct mail, but especially for smaller organizations that might not have a ton of history in the fundraising space. If funding is low, you’ll need a partner who can guide you in utilizing the right tools to market your organization effectively.
- Tools and resources: Try to find a partner who’s direct mail platform has the right services for your organization. For example, let’s say your nonprofit is looking to increase your matching gift revenue. A company such as 360MatchPro may be a good fit for you since the platform is dedicated to automating the matching gift outreach process and maximizing your corporate dollars. However, if you’re looking for a more generalized direct mail platform, you might want to take a look at GivingMail’s services.
When you find the right fundraising partner for your organization, you lay the groundwork for strategic direct mail marketing success. Plus, you can save time, money, and effort that can then be reinvested into your mission. It’s a win-win!
All in all, direct mail fundraising appeals have significant potential to raise unlimited dollars for mission-driven organizations like yours. When you use customizable templates, promote matching gifts, include strategically crafted greetings, P.S., and calls to action, and find the right fundraising partner, you’re sure to see revenue flying in in no time. Good luck!
This guest post was contributed by Grant Cobb of GivingMail.
Grant Cobb is a fundraising specialist with over 6 years of experience in the nonprofit space. Currently the head of marketing and analytics at GivingMail, he is a huge proponent of data-driven decision making and the push to bring high-level analytics and fundraising to all.
BetterUnite Announces 360MatchPro by Double the Donation as Exclusive Matching Gift Software Provider
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerBetterUnite, an industry-leading fundraising software provider to nonprofits seeking comprehensive solutions, announces 360MatchPro will replace Amply as the platform’s exclusive matching gift software provider. Double the Donation and BetterUnite have come together to provide the best-available matching gift automation software to BetterUnite users. This integration allows donors to discover their matching gift eligibility in a simple step, and provides nonprofits the tools they need to see donations double.
360MatchPro integrates seamlessly with BetterUnite to maximize matching gift revenue for nonprofits and enhance donor experience with the matching gift process. This integration simplifies the matching gift process for donors by guiding them directly from a donation form to a matching gift submission – and creates success for nonprofits by taking care of the heavy-lifting with automated tools that boost matching gift revenue.
“Double the Donation is proud to partner with BetterUnite to expand accessibility to matching gift software for nonprofits,” says Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “Our integration will allow more nonprofits to expand their fundraising operations without detracting from the time and resources they need to advance their important causes.”
With this integration at their disposal, nonprofit organizations can take their fundraising operations to the next level, ensuring donors are empowered to double their donation and impact with matching gifts.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
You can activate this integration in a few easy steps to start your matching gifts journey with 360MatchPro and BetterUnite today. It’s as simple as navigating to the “integrations” tab on your BetterUnite platform, selecting Double the Donation, and entering your public and private API keys provided to you by Double the Donation!
With simple set-up, you can activate this integration quickly and get started with matching gifts today.
Once your integration is live, donors will be able to check their matching gift eligibility from within your donation forms by entering their employer information into the autocomplete search tool, and will be linked directly to their specific employer’s matching gift forms from the confirmation page! This functionality makes driving each match to completion achievable with a simple click for the donor.
360MatchPro goes beyond this primary touchpoint to include email automation for follow-ups, ensuring that no match is missed. Donors will receive guided next steps depending on whether or not they provided employer information within the donation form itself to see their donations and impact on your cause doubled.
Email automation makes follow-ups simple for your organization and provides donors an additional chance to get their donation matched!
This feature will ensure your organization is able to maximize matching gift revenue and educate donors with minimal effort!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
The 360MatchPro and BetterUnite integration will equip your organization with the tools it needs to boost matching gift revenue and provide a streamlined experience for donors giving to your organization’s cause.
Check out some of these features from the 360MatchPro-BetterUnite integration:
Ready to get started on your matching gifts journey? Request a demo today and be sure to mention you use BetterUnite when you request!
About BetterUnite: BetterUnite provides industry leading fundraising software to all nonprofits in one comprehensive solution for free. BetterUnite was built to make life and work easier for mission-driven organizations. Rather than using multiple independent and costly fundraising software platforms, BetterUnite has created the very best of fundraising and donor management modules so that you can fund faster, all in one place. Simply put, BetterUnite is your one-stop-shop for reaching your fundraising goals. For more information on BetterUnite, visit https://www.betterunite.com/.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
Hopsie Chooses Double the Donation for Integrated Matching Gift Solution
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift and volunteer grant solutions to nonprofits, is excited to announce the integration of its 360MatchPro corporate matching gift solution with Hopsie, a fundraising platform dedicated to inspiring action.
360MatchPro enables nonprofits to take advantage of the underutilized matching gift space by providing their donors with an opportunity to search their company name, find their eligibility, and get their gift matched by their employer. The automated search tool maps donors’ entries to their employer and the 360MatchPro plugin provides a direct pipeline to the appropriate company gift matching request form. The entire process is automated, freeing up organizations’ time so they can dedicate their efforts to creating positive change in the communities they serve.
“We’re proud to assist in Hopsie’s mission to help organizations reach their full fundraising potential so they don’t have to worry about where the money for their efforts comes from,” says Adam Weinger, president at Double the Donation. “With our automated follow ups and easy-to-use data, 360MatchPro makes sure nonprofits’ efforts go to the things they really care about.”
Hopsie has enhanced both functionality and customer experience by substituting the previous Amply solution with the 360MatchPro solution by Double the Donation. With the new integrated solution, 360MatchPro and Hopsie now offer nonprofits the opportunity to claim the billions of dollars in matching gift revenue left on the table each year.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
Activating 360MatchPro for your Hopsie forms is quick and simple: just navigate to your Hopsie editor, enter your public API key, and click “Enable” to get up and running! Once you’re all done with setup, you’ll see the autocomplete search tool on your donation page and the matching gift plugin on the confirmation screen.
Easily set up your integration with you public API key.
With your 360MatchPro and Hopsie accounts linked, donors will now be able to discover their match eligibility and go straight to their matching gift request form after they complete a donation to your organization. Double the Donation has found that a third of donors who are encouraged by the possibility of a match are likely to donate a higher dollar amount than they originally intended! That’s why the 360MatchPro tool informs donors of their eligibility during the giving process. That, paired with easy next steps to submitting their match request to their employer, makes the 360MatchPro and Hopsie integration a key value-add for nonprofit clients.
Donors can search their company name in the autocomplete search tool.
Minimizing the effort donors have to make to get their gift matched maximizes the chances of your org seeing not only matches to your donor’s contributions, but larger individual donations as well.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
$4-7 billion in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed each year. That’s money corporations set aside specifically for the nonprofits their employees support! Make sure your organization is claiming some of those funds with the 360MatchPro and Hopsie integration.
Hopsie and Double the Donation are dedicated to offering organizations great value with little to no complicated IT work, time, or effort on the nonprofit’s part. Take the stress out of gift matching with our features:
Don’t wait to get started – request a personalized demo today and make sure you mention you use Hopsie when you request!
About Hopsie: Hopsie is a white label fundraising application that provides nonprofits with emotionally compelling donation forms, crowdfunding tools, peer to peer fundraising, and automated communications. Backed by an experienced team of nonprofit founders, each feature was built thoughtfully and with the purpose of helping nonprofits save time and money, so that they can focus their efforts on the incredible work that they do.
About Double the Donation: There’s an unnecessary gap between fundraising organizations and corporate giving programs, to the tune of $4-7 billion in unclaimed matching gift revenue annually. Double the Donation helps nonprofits and educational institutions increase fundraising from corporate matching gift and employee volunteer grant programs. Double the Donation maintains a database of employee matching gift and volunteer grant programs. With more than 20,000 entries in the database, Double the Donation presents match-eligible donors with their company’s specific program requirements, including a direct link to their company’s online matching gift submission portal or PDF download.
Raklet Chooses 360MatchPro by Double the Donation as Exclusive Matching Gift Software Provider
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and Raklet are pleased to announce their new matching gift integration partnership. This duo has come together to help organizations earn more revenue through employer matching gifts, one of the most popular forms of corporate philanthropy. Through this partnership, Raklet users can take advantage of 360MatchPro by Double the Donation, the industry’s leading provider of automated matching gift software.
360MatchPro integrates seamlessly within the Raklet platform to help nonprofits identify match-eligible donors and drive their matching gift requests to completion. By automating the gift matching process from start to finish, this integration can help organizations take advantage of the $4-7 billion offered in matching gifts each year.
360MatchPro works with Raklet confirmation forms to identify which donors qualify for matching gift programs. Then, through automated yet personalized outreach, it provides donors with simple ways to submit a matching gift request without any unnecessary effort. This makes it easy to educate donors and earn more matching gift revenue for your organization.
“We are so excited to work with Raklet and bring matching gift automation to their platform,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “Our tools make it easy to raise more in matching gifts without calling on nonprofits to chase down matching gift funds. This automated system allows nonprofits to earn more without any extra effort – so they can focus on the causes they care about.”
Through a simple and seamless setup process, Raklet users will be able to close the donor awareness gap and fuel their matching gift funds with 360MatchPro.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More From Matching Gifts!
360MatchPro works with Raklet confirmation forms to grow matching gift revenue for your organization. The setup process is simple, so your organization can get up and running in no time!
First, you can navigate to the “App Store” from within your Raklet platform. You will then see the “Double the Donation” integration, which will prompt you to enter your 360MatchPro credentials.
Activating this integration will add the 360MatchPro search tool to your Raklet confirmation forms. This will allow donors to search for their company name from the 360MatchPro database directly after submitting their donation. This database is composed of tens of thousands of corporate matching gift programs – making it easy to map your donor to their employer’s program.
Once the donor selects their matching gift program from the streamlined search tool, they will receive a direct link to their matching gift submission form along with their program’s matching gift guidelines – meaning they can start the matching gift process with just one click!
360MatchPro also automates matching gift outreach to serve as an additional donor touchpoint after the donation process. Though this automated system, your organization can send customizable emails that also contain direct links to donors’ matching gift submission forms. This provides them with an additional chance to learn about matching gift opportunities and begin their submission process.
These automated avenues make it easier than ever to educate donors and drive revenue through employer gift matching programs!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro uses specialized functionality to fuel your fundraising initiatives! It can:
Ready to get started? Schedule a personalized demo to see how 360MatchPro could help your organization raise more matching gift funds.
About Raklet: Raklet is an all-in-one non-profit management software that allows you to engage with volunteers and donors in a meaningful, digital way. On top of a powerful CRM, you can create fundraising campaigns, send emails and SMS, organize events & sell tickets, have your private social network and your own branded mobile app, and much more. It’s a simple and easy way to increase community engagement and grow your non-profit organization. To learn more, visit the Raklet website.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more visit https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/
GiveForms Announces Matching Gift Functionality Through 360MatchPro by Double the Donation
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and GiveForms are pleased to debut their technical software integration. This duo has come together to provide nonprofits with advanced matching gift automation through 360MatchPro by Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift and volunteer grant software.
Nonprofits already utilize the intuitive, human-centered design of GiveForms donation pages to delight donors and grow their mission. Now, these organizations can add matching gift automation to their list of GiveForm features to begin targeting the $4-7 billion in matching gift funds that go unclaimed each year.
360MatchPro discovers match-eligible donors during the donation process, and then works to provide them with simple steps to complete their matching gift submission forms. This automated process can lead to doubled or even tripled donation amounts without calling on donors to contribute more of their own dollars.
“GiveForms is a high-converting, digital fundraising tool, and we are so excited to add 360MatchPro to their list of available features.” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “We strive to help nonprofits take advantage of the billions of dollars offered in matching gifts, and through this partnership, we can empower these organizations to make a major difference for their mission.”
This seamless solution has a simple set-up process, and it will help nonprofits everywhere target the 18 million individuals working for companies with matching gift programs.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
The 360MatchPro and GiveForms integration uses a basic set-up process so that you can start harnessing matching gifts with just a couple of clicks. To get started, simply navigate to your GiveForms “Integrations” page and select “Connect to 360MatchPro”.
Then, you can simply enter your 360MatchPro API keys to activate your matching gift integration! Once you’re up and running, the 360MatchPro search field will appear on your donation forms, allowing donors to search for the name of their employer to discover match eligibility. This search bar even accounts for typos, parent companies and subsidiaries, making it easy for the donor to select the correct company. Once the donor submits their donation, they can access a direct link to their matching gift request form and guidelines directly from the confirmation page.
Your matching gift fundraising doesn’t stop there – 360MatchPro can also automate matching gift outreach, making it easy to follow up with donors post transaction. This can be hugely beneficial considering that employing multiple approaches to identify match-eligible donors results in 77% more identified match-eligible donations.
These automated yet customizable messages can include a direct link to your donors’ matching gift forms or a link to discover matching gift eligibility depending on how the donor used the streamlined search tool during the donation process. This additional donor touchpoint allows your team to double or even triple match eligible donations without any unnecessary effort!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro uses specialized functionality to fuel your fundraising initiatives! It can:
Interested in learning more? Schedule a personalized demo to see how matching gifts could impact your organization.
About GiveForms: GiveForms uses human centered design and powerful donor psychology methods to help you raise more. Provide your donors a best in class giving experience with minimal steps and friction. With a focus on intuitive, human-centered design, their goal is to help you maximize your online giving. Learn more at https://www.giveforms.com/
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more visit https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/
Givebutter Debuts Advanced Gift Matching Automation with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerGivebutter, one of the fastest growing providers on online crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, and online fundraising resources, can now provide their nonprofits, educational institutions, and other fundraisers with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation. With the 360MatchPro integration, donors giving through Givebutter can automatically discover their matching gift eligibility and double their impact by getting their donation matched.
Each year, $4-7 billion in matching gift revenue goes unclaimed because donors are unaware of the opportunities they have to get their gift matched by their employer. 360MatchPro by Double the Donation focuses on closing that awareness so impact-driven donors can increase their contribution by double or even triple the amount.
“Partnering with Givebutter is a more-than-natural fit for the Double the Donation mission,” says Adam Weinger, President at Double the Donation. “Our goals are as aligned as they are simple: help nonprofits and educational institutions raise more money without the pain of complicated tech work.”
With the industry’s leading matching gift tools integrated into Givebutter campaign and donation pages, organizations can make sure that each matching gift opportunity is identified and followed up on with minimal effort.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
The integration of 360MatchPro into Givebutter forms is a seamless process you can complete in a matter of seconds. It’s as simple as going to your Integrations tab on your Givebutter platform and getting set up with your 360MatchPro API keys! No complicated IT work required.
Get set up with 360MatchPro in a matter of minutes.
Once you have your 360MatchPro tool live on your Givebutter forms and campaigns, donors will be able to search their company name and find their matching gift eligibility using the autocomplete search tool. With 1 out of 3 donors more likely to donate more money when a match is offered, you’ll want to make sure those donors find out their status sooner than later!
Following up with those donors is equally important. That’s why the 360MatchPro and Givebutter integration also makes sure that no donor walks away from the giving process without an opportunity to go straight to their matching gift form or employee portal! Identifying those eligible matches is just step one—making sure donors have an easy pathway to getting their gift matched is the final piece of the puzzle.
Donors can discover their match eligibility right from their Givebutter donation form.
You can take advantage of 360MatchPro’s automated email functionality to create that extra touch point for your donors. The more opportunities you give donors to get their gifts matched, the more likely you’ll see those matches rolling in! With ease of use for both you and your donors, gift matching becomes a no-brainer.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
Givebutter and Double the Donation are dedicated to creating a simple and effective experience for clients and donors alike. With the new integration of Givebutter’s online fundraising software and 360MatchPro’s advanced matching gift tools, nonprofits, schools, and other fundraisers alike can increase the impact of their campaigns by adding corporate matching gifts to their fundraising strategy.
Check out some of these features from the 360MatchPro-Givebutter integration:
Ready to get started on your matching gifts journey? Request a demo today.
About Givebutter: Givebutter, established in 2016, is a fundraising technology company based in Washington, D.C., powering millions in online donations, fundraising campaigns, and ticketed events for more than 15,000 charitable causes around the world. Combining industry best practices such as Peer-to-Peer with innovative technologies like Venmo, Givebutter helps organizations raise more, increase engagement, and grow supporter bases over time – particularly amongst younger generations. Thanks in large part to its transparent pricing and beautifully designed user interface, Givebutter has become one of the fastest-growing and best-rated nonprofit technology platforms, according to Software Advice Frontrunners and G2 (2020). For more information on Givebutter, visit https://givebutter.com.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts.
Higher Ed Fundraising Platforms & Matching Gifts: Support Your Institution with 360MatchPro
/in Learning Center /by Julia BeltranDirect Mail Appeals for Nonprofits: 5 Best Practices
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerFundraising for any nonprofit organization can be daunting. There are various ways in which an organization can go about asking donors for money. However, there is one fundraising channel that has proven to be successful time and time again in terms of engaging donors: direct mail.
As a marketing tool, direct mail can be more appealing due to its physical format and personalized content. If you or your nonprofit organization have decided to use direct mail to reach donors, you’ve made a smart choice. However, fine-tuning the structure and content of a fundraising letter can be complex and tedious. Here are five best practices that will make your direct mail development manageable while also improving its quality:
1. Customize your fundraising letter templates.
When launching your direct mail campaign, you want to make sure that your fundraising letter is impactful, appealing, and organized. One of the most important aspects of writing a great fundraising letter is choosing and customizing the right template. Most fundraising letter templates include some variation of these six pieces:
When choosing the right template for your appeal, make sure that it represents what you want to highlight for your fundraising. For example, perhaps you’ve already sent out your initial fundraising letter and you wish to follow up with a matching gift request. In that case, use an acknowledgment letter that thanks the donor for their contributions and encourages them to research their matching gift eligibility through their employer.
The fundraising template you use sets the tone for how you promote your cause. Your fundraising letter, in a sense, is an extension of the brand image that you wish to create for your nonprofit. Regardless of what that image looks like, your template should allow your letter to be concise, easy to read, and attention-grabbing. After all, you want your donor to acknowledge the letter as an exciting opportunity rather than just another piece of snail mail.
For example, you could include an important statistic relating to your mission or add a quote or slogan that summarizes your cause. Organizing your template ultimately makes it easier to communicate your message and get the response you’re looking for.
2. Include a section about matching gifts.
Matching gifts are essential for maximizing your nonprofit donations. This type of corporate philanthropy consists of donations made by a donor’s employer in response to a gift made by the employee. This is a fantastic way to double (or even triple!) your existing donations, but it’s often overlooked by donors and nonprofits alike.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to educate your supporters about the prevalence and power of matching gift programs. Usually, you’ll ask them to contact their employer for eligibility and any necessary forms to fulfill the gift request (as each corporation has its own set of matching gift guidelines). However, matching gift software can simplify this process by easily providing donors with information about their employer’s giving programs.
Overall, matching gifts have several benefits for nonprofits, corporations, and donors alike. For the donors, matching gifts come at no additional cost but allow them to see the impact of their donation go twice as far. In addition, the company can get recognition for corporate social responsibility, which improves its reputation and provides them with tax cuts.
Finally, for nonprofits, matching gifts can increase revenue while also aiding them in segmenting their donor database. By connecting donors to certain companies, nonprofits can obtain valuable insights on how to further customize and curate content for their audience. Make sure you send out your matching gift appeals for these reasons and more.
3. Strategically curate your greeting and P.S.
Curating content is important—especially when the end of the year approaches. It allows you to personalize the direct mail content for your donor. The more you personalize a direct mail letter, the more you motivate your donor in supporting the cause.
Personalization means not only explaining how the cause is relevant to the reader but also using language and terminology that resonates with them. There are few better opportunities when it comes to personalizing your content than the greeting and P.S.
When drafting your direct mail appeals, it’s important to recognize that your recipients are likely going to skim the text. And when readers scan a letter, studies show that they typically jump straight to the P.S. after the opening.
Therefore, when writing your greeting and P.S., be sure to effectively communicate the feeling you want to create in your donor. If you want your donor to feel close to your nonprofit, you may adopt an informal and casual tone in your greeting and P.S. Perhaps you want them to read the letter as if they were receiving it from a close friend. You can then conclude your P.S. with a joke that will make them smile.
This section can also include additional information that can get the donor more involved in the cause. It can be a minor suggestion based on the specific donor, or it can be a reference to a website/organizational resource. In short, the greeting and P.S. are the main components of the letter that donors remember; that’s why it has been used in sales-boosting for so long. Ask yourself what impact you want to have on the donor, and make your opening and closing statements reflect that.
4. Wrap up with a clear and concise CTA.
Once you have explained your cause and its current state, you must bring your letter to a close with a strong call to action (or CTA). The CTA is the most important part of your direct mail when it comes to asking for donations.
This is where you highlight the exact purpose and importance of your donor’s contribution to the cause. Here you must be specific with what action you demand from your donor. You’ve already detailed the broader scope of your organization’s efforts, and now it’s time to hone it down to one ask. It can be for monetary gifts, volunteer time, matching gift requests, or even event sign-ups.
Whatever your ask is, just make sure that you tie it back to that larger purpose. State why your intended action is necessary to push the cause forward. For example, you can write, “with your donation of $100 dollars, you can feed a struggling family of four for a month. ” This puts a tangible incentive along with your donation request to make the reader more likely to form an emotional connection.
The CTA can and should be used repeatedly throughout the body of your fundraising letter to improve results. The effectiveness of your CTA depends on how well you get your point across and its sense of urgency. You should make the donor feel like they are an extension of the organization. In other words, they must take action because any choice they make can have a large impact on the cause—and the good of the constituents depends on them.
5. Work with a dedicated direct mail fundraising platform.
Now that you understand the importance of an effective direct mail fundraising strategy, you must find the proper platform to meet your needs. Specifically, you’ll want to look for a platform that provides the tools and accessibility you need to craft your letter and maximize your ROI.
When finding a direct mail platform, you will notice how there are several companies that specialize in nonprofit direct mail, each having its own set of pros and cons in their services. Here are some of the features and considerations you may want to look out for:
When you find the right fundraising partner for your organization, you lay the groundwork for strategic direct mail marketing success. Plus, you can save time, money, and effort that can then be reinvested into your mission. It’s a win-win!
All in all, direct mail fundraising appeals have significant potential to raise unlimited dollars for mission-driven organizations like yours. When you use customizable templates, promote matching gifts, include strategically crafted greetings, P.S., and calls to action, and find the right fundraising partner, you’re sure to see revenue flying in in no time. Good luck!
This guest post was contributed by Grant Cobb of GivingMail.
Grant Cobb is a fundraising specialist with over 6 years of experience in the nonprofit space. Currently the head of marketing and analytics at GivingMail, he is a huge proponent of data-driven decision making and the push to bring high-level analytics and fundraising to all.
Virtuous and Double the Donation Enhance their Integration for Greater Gift Matching Opportunities
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerVirtuous and Double the Donation are proud to announce updates to their software integration. This pair has added enhanced functionality to their gift matching tools so that nonprofits can increase growth with employer gift matching. These changes include more program identification fields, cutting-edge identification methods and increased donor touchpoints.
This integration was already helping nonprofits increase employer matching gift funds though 360MatchPro, the industry’s leading matching gift software. Through this partnership, organizations could capitalize on the $4-7 billion in matching gift funds that go unclaimed each year.
These enhancements were designed not only to create an easier user experience, but also a more valuable one. Both donors and nonprofits alike will see that these enhancements have shifted to meet the industry’s increased automation needs.
“We are so excited to offer enhanced matching gift tools to Virtuous users,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “We understand the value of adaptable software that fits the needs of nonprofits. That’s why we consistently provide cutting-edge fundraising solutions.”
Through this seamless integration, your organization can capture even more match eligible donors and drive their matching gift requests to completion.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
The 360MatchPro integrates easily into your Virtuous platform, providing a simple set up process. Once you activate the software integration, 360MatchPro will be activated globally to your CRM. Then, you can add or remove the streamlined search tool from your Virtuous Giving forms.
This search tool allows donors to discover their matching gift eligibility and then navigate directly to their matching gift submission page from the confirmation screen – making it easier than ever for your supporters to double their donations.
360MatchPro can also automate customizable matching gift outreach. These messages are designed to capture even more donors and provide them with easy steps to submit matching gift requests. With this additional touchpoint and easy data tracking in the 360MatchPro portal, your organization can easily automate the matching gift process to increase donations without any extra effort!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro uses specialized functionality to fuel your fundraising initiatives! It can:
Ready to learn more? Schedule a personalized demo to see how 360MatchPro could help your organization earn more matching gift revenue.
About Virtuous: Virtuous is a Nonprofit Marketing, CRM and Donation Platform helping charities grow giving and build better relationships with donors. This all-in-one nonprofit growth platform allows donor management software to meet modern marketing technology. Virtuous software is feature-rich enough to meet all of your complex fundraising needs and help you create personal connections with your constituents. Interested in learning more? Check out Virtuous features at https://www.virtuouscrm.com/
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more visit https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/
Click & Pledge Expands Matching Gift Functionality with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerClick & Pledge and Double the Donation are proud to announce their new integration of 360MatchPro, Double the Donation’s most advanced and robust matching gift tool, into Click & Pledge donation pages. The new integration steps up clients’ matching gift functionality by providing donors with their matching gift information and a direct pipeline to their matching gift request form.
Click & Pledge clients can now enter in their company information to the autocomplete search tool to find their employer during the donation process, and discover their company’s matching gift information via email. Furthermore, customized email functionality gives nonprofits yet another opportunity to tell their donors about the value of matching gifts.
“We are committed to providing nonprofits and their donors with the most accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date information about corporate matching gift programs,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “The Double the Donation database is updated multiple times a day by the Double the Donation database team to ensure that all instructions, links, and program details delivered to donors actually result in increased revenue for nonprofits — not frustration at outdated information and broken links.”
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from Matching Gifts!
The new Click & Pledge and 360MatchPro integration is designed to provide a simple onboarding process for nonprofits with easy, intuitive configuration. All nonprofits have to do is navigate to Third Party Integrations within their Click & Pledge platform settings and enter in their 360MatchPro public API key to activate. From there, clients can toggle the 360MatchPro tools on or off for each campaign.
Clients can enter their public API key from their 360MatchPro platform to activate the integration.
Once your 360MatchPro account is fully activated on your forms of choice, donors are then able to search for their company name using the autocomplete search tool, equipped with Double the Donation’s comprehensive database of over 20,000 matching gift providers. Donors then receive emails configured by nonprofits to lead them directly to their matching gift request form, making gift matching as easy as donate, search, and match!
Donors can receive emails encouraging them to get their donation matched by their employer.
By streamlining the matching gift application process for donors, nonprofits are able to maximize the probability of driving those matches to completion.
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
Click & Pledge is dedicated to helping their clients generate more impact with innovative features and integrations, and the integration with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation is the latest addition to that list of valuable tools.
Check out some of our favorite 360MatchPro features:
Create more value for your organization with 360MatchPro by Double the Donation.
Interested in learning more about how your nonprofit could benefit from matching gifts? Schedule a demo with us today to get started.
About Click & Pledge: Generate more impact for your nonprofit with an all-in-one fundraising platform provided by Click & Pledge. The CONNECT platform has assisted over 20,000 organizations with campaigns and offers tools such as online donation forms, peer-to-peer fundraising, and integrations with Salesforce®. With CONNECT, nonprofit leaders can access the latest innovative features, including text message fundraising and integrative donor outreach at an industry-leading price. For more information regarding Click & Pledge, visit www.clickandpledge.com.
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more about Double the Donation, visit https://doublethedonation.com and request a demo at https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/.
GiveWP chooses Double the Donation as Exclusive Matching Gift Software Provider
/in Learning Center /by Adam WeingerDouble the Donation and GiveWP are pleased to announce their technical software integration! This duo has partnered to bring matching gift automation to GiveWP clients. Using the industry leading matching gift tool, 360MatchPro by Double the Donation, organizations will be able to capitalize on employer matching gift funds.
360MatchPro can now work alongside GiveWP features to automate the matching gift process from start to finish. GiveWP is a free, open source plugin that allows add-ons, like 360MatchPro. This seamless integration can help nonprofits everywhere target the 18 million individuals in the U.S. that work for companies with matching gift programs.
360MatchPro identifies match eligible donors during the donation process so your team doesn’t have to. Then, 360MatchPro uses automated outreach to educate donors and provide them with simple ways to submit matching gift requests. This helps organizations drive donations without any extra effort – or asking donors for more funds.
“GiveWP is an open source, innovative platform, and we are so excited to help their clients support the causes that they care about,” said Adam Weigner, President of Double the Donation. “Their features are not only valuable, but also accessible, and we are so proud to bring gift matching to their platform.”
This seamless integration will help nonprofits take advantage of the $4-7 billion in matching gift revenue that goes unclaimed each year.
Activate in Seconds and Start Raising More from matching Gifts!
360MatchPro and GiveWP integrate seamlessly for the ultimate matching gift experience. To activate this integration, simply download the “Give – Double the Donation” plugin and add it to your GiveWP plugins page. Then, you can enter your 360MatchPro credentials and add company matching to individual donation forms.
Once your integration is up and running, your donation form will have the robust matching gift power of 360MatchPro! This tool allows donors to search the name of their employer on the donation form, so that they can then be provided with matching gift information directly on the confirmation screen. The matching gift info includes a direct link to the donor’s gift matching submission form.
360MatchPro can even send customizable messages to your donors to educate them about employer matching gifts. If the donor entered their company on the donation page, then these messages will include their personalized matching gift submission form and program guidelines. This additional touchpoint makes it easier than ever to drive matching gift submissions through 360MatchPro!
Drive More Matching Gifts to Completion with 360MatchPro!
360MatchPro uses specialized functionality to fuel your fundraising initiatives! It can:
Interested in learning more? Schedule a personalized demo to see how matching gifts could impact your organization.
About GiveWP: GiveWP is an open source plugin that is Democratizing Generosity. This platform allows you to accept charitable gifts through customizable donation forms, view donation statistics and reports, manage donors, and integrate with a wide variety of third-party gateways and services. The main GiveWP donation plugin is free and yet full of many advanced features. Highly customizable donation forms, full-featured reporting, and robust donor management features provide site owners with the tools they need to create online donation platforms on any WordPress site. Tens of thousands of causes use GiveWP to raise millions of dollars per year. To learn more visit https://givewp.com/
About Double the Donation: Automate your matching gift fundraising with the industry-leading solution from Double the Donation. The 360MatchPro platform provides nonprofits with tools to identify match-eligible donors, drive matches to completion, and gain actionable insights. 360MatchPro integrates directly into donation forms, CRMs, social fundraising software, and other nonprofit technology solutions to capture employment information and follow up appropriately with donors about matching gifts. To learn more visit https://360matchpro.com/demo-request/